What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Walt Disney Animated Classics/Trolls
Trolls is a 1994 American animated musical fantasy comedy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, based on the Troll dolls created by Thomas Dam. The film was written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, produced by Walt Disney and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The film revolves around two trolls on a quest to save their village from destruction by the Ogres, creatures who eat trolls. The 69th in the Walt Disney Animated Classics canon, the film premiered on October 8, 1994, at the Carnes Film Festival and was theatrically released in the United States on November 4, 1994, by Walt Disney Pictures, making it the final Disney animated film to be released before Walt Disney's death. The film grossed $344 million worldwide against its $125 million budget and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Can't Stop the Feeling!". Plot The trolls are small creatures who live in an almost perpetual state of happiness, singing, dancing and hugging all day long. However, they are discovered by the Ogres, large and grey creatures who never feel happy but discover that they can feel happy for a moment if they eat a troll. The Ogres put the trolls and their tree in a cage, and hold an annual festival in which each Ogre gets its feeling of happiness by eating a troll. However, the trolls, led by their King Peppy, escape through underground tunnels on the day that the Ogre crown prince, Gristle, would taste his first troll. The furious Ogre king, Gristle Sr., banishes the minister in charge of the troll preparation and his Chef. Twenty years later, King Peppy's daughter, the extremely happy and optimistic Princess Poppy, throws a big party to celebrate the trolls' escape, despite the warnings of the glum and paranoid troll Branch that loud parties will attract the Ogres. Branch's fears are realized when indeed the banished Ogre, the Chef sees the fireworks and captures a number of Poppy's closest friends. Poppy is among the trolls who managed to hide, but discovers that none of the other trolls dares to venture to the town of the Ogres to rescue their friends. She is however able to recruit the reluctant Branch, and together they venture to the Ogres' town. Poppy and Branch discover that their friends are being guarded by the scullery maid, Bridget, and strike a deal with her: if she frees their friends and help them confirm Poppy's belief that Creek is alive, they will help her get a date with Gristle (who is now the King). With the trolls' advice (and hair) Bridget gets her date with Gristle and she helps the trolls escape. However, things go wrong when Poppy and her friends try to rescue the last troll, the Zen-like troll Creek, who, after being apparently swallowed by the young king has been discovered being held captive in the jewel that decorates the king's mantle. While the trolls are successful in stealing the jewel, they are dismayed to discover that it is empty, and even more shocked by being captured immediately afterwards by the Chef and discovering that Creek has betrayed them to save his own hide. Creek returns to the troll village, where, using Poppy's cowbell, he lures the other trolls out of hiding, letting them be captured by the Chef and the other Ogre cooks who lie in ambush. With all the trolls captured and being ready to be served to the Ogres, even Poppy loses hope, and she and all the other trolls turn grey. Branch, who despite his grumbling is secretly in love with Poppy, cannot stand seeing her and the others so despondent, and, for the first time since his grandmother was eaten by a Ogre, sings, so that Poppy and the other trolls regain their color and hope and even Branch himself loses his grey hue and shows his true colors. Just before being served, the trolls are rescued by Bridget, who wants them to flee, while she herself is ready to accept the Ogres' punishment for her 'treason'. However, Poppy does not want to abandon her Ogre friend, and, together with the other trolls, reveals that Bridget was in fact the king's mysterious date, and that for being happy it is not necessary to eat trolls, as the feeling that Bridget and the King had on their date was happiness too. The trolls invite the Ogres to sing and dance with them, making the grey creatures feel the happiness that was already inside them that they just needed help to access. The vengeful Chef, who sees her newly re-won position at court jeopardized, tries to kill the trolls, but before she can do so is knocked into the serving cart by a well-aimed spoon of Bridget, and, together with the traitor Creek who was still in her pouch, rolls out of the castle, winding up in the wilderness where she and Creek themselves are devoured by the Crocodile from Peter Pan (who had tried to eat Poppy and Branch earlier in the film). In the end, the trolls live in peace with the (happy) Ogres, Poppy is crowned as the new ruler of the trolls, and she and Branch, who has now regained his true blue color and his hope, romantically hug. During the credits, Poppy and Branch dance together along with the Snack Pack joining in on the fun. Cast Production Story development Animation Music Release Home media Reception Box office Critical reception Accolades Controversy TV series A animated series based on the film, entitled Trolls: The Beat Goes On! was released on Disney Channel on February 14, 2011. The show stars Amanda Leighton as Poppy and Skylar Astin as Branch. The show also includes Captain Hook and his pirate crew from Peter Pan as main characters, as well as being set in Neverland. Sequel On July 15, 2017, it was announced that a sequel titled Trolls 2 produced by DisneyToon Studios would be released on April 10, 2020, making the second theatrical Disney sequel (after Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2) produced by DisneyToon Studios after a hitaus of direct-to-video sequels, with Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake reprising their roles of Poppy and Branch from the live-action/CGI remake. Along with the new release date, it was announced that Ron Clements and John Musker will be returning to direct. Out of all the sequels and spinoffs based on Disney films directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Trolls will to be the only of which to actually have them as directors. On December 6, 2017, the film was pushed back to an April 17, 2020 release. Live-action adaptation On April 11, 2013, the Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger announced that a live-action remake to Trolls, with Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake announced for the roles of Poppy and Branch, respectively. The live-action remake was released on November 4, 2016 to positive reviews, with many praising Kendrick and Timberlake's performances as well as the ensemble cast and faithfulness to the original animated film, though it also received mixed reviews for some of the character designs and its excessive similarity to the original. The film served as a mix of live-action with the trolls appearing as computer animated by DreamWorks Animation (in its only 2010s post-Paramount work without 20th Century Fox's distribution) and Pixar Animation Studios, who gave them more cartoony style similar to the film. It was directed by Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Walt Dohrn. Trivia *There are fan theories that Trolls is connected to Peter Pan, due to the Crocodile from the aftermentioned film appearing in two scenes in Trolls.